In prior devices of this type, the oil radiator is placed in the water box prior to the water box being mounted on the end of a bundle of tubes or of a heat exchanger body, with the oil radiator being inserted inside the water box via the open face of the water box which is then placed over the end of the body or the bundle of tubes of the heat exchanger. The oil radiator includes two connection tubes for connecting to the lubricating oil circuit of an engine and/or a gear box, and these tubes are mounted in sealed manner through corresponding orifices in the side wall of the water box, which orifices are of substantially the same diameters as the outside diameters of the corresponding tubes, for ease of sealing.
In order for the radiator to be mountable in the water box, the water box must have a width which is at least substantially equal to the overall outside dimensions of the oil radiator in the same direction, i.e. in general to the width of the radiator plus the length of its inlet and outlet tubes. The water box must thus be relatively wide, and in any case much wider than the thickness or corresponding dimension of current heat exchanger bundles of tubes, thereby giving rise to a water box which is oversize relative to the size of the bundle.
Proposals have already been made, for example as described in French patent specification published under No. 2 549 593, to tilt the radiator for insertion into the water box via its open face, so that the inlet and outlet tubes of the radiator can be inserted at an angle through the orifices of the side wall of the water box. However, in order to do this the water box still needs to be wider than a conventional water box, thereby requiring the use of water boxes, perforated plates, and sealing gaskets which are special instead of conventional water boxes, perforated plates, and gaskets, whenever an oil radiator is to be disposed inside a water box.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to mitigate these drawbacks.